Combs Family

Text from the Combs Family (1658-1930):

Alexander and Fanny Clendennin) Trousdale:
*Mary (Polly) Trousdale had been born 6 July 1793 in Tennessee to Alexander and Fanny (Clendennin) Trousdale. Alexander Trousdale had been born in Lancaster (now Dauphin) County, Pennsylvania on 23 June 1766 and was taken as an infant by his parents to Orange (now Alamance) County, North Carolina, the birthplace of Fannie Clendennin. The Trousdale and Clendennin properties were close to each other, and many early records show the two families sometimes working and serving side by side. Thus it was certainly likely that Alexander and **Fannie, daughter of William and Mary Clendennin, had known each other while growing up; they married in 1790 and headed west.

*A connection identified in the Combs book; Thomas Combs married Sarah Anderson, who was the sister of my ancestress, Alice (Alsey) Anderson.  Their son, Jonathan Pettit Combs, married Icyvilla Dolan, daughter of Mary (Polly) Trousdale.

**Note Added: Fannie was the widow of John Clendenin when she married Alexander Trousdale (was she also the daughter of William and Mary Clendenin?).  Alexander and Fannie were my ancestors.

Fannie's First Husband, John Clendenin

Mary (Fannie)'s first husband was Lt. John Clenden(n)in. 

John Clendenin: This one and/or this one (from earlier blog posts).....

North Carolina Revolutionary War Soldiers

Clendenin, John, Ensign

Company: Emmets'

Date of Enlistment & Commission: 15 April 1776

Occurrences:  Lt. 23 Dec 1777; Quartermaster, 13 Dec 1779; Prisoner, 8 September 1781; 

Deranged, 1 January 1783

The American historical magazine:

Heirs sold Clendenin land to James Frazier of Sumner, Tennessee

Witnesses: George Kinnard, Ephraim Young, 11 June 1818

Lt. Clendennin

 The American historical magazine:

Alexander Trousdale, Second Husband Of Mary (Fannie)

Alexander Trousdale in the Descendants Of John Trousdale manuscript:

ALEXANDER TROUSDALE, s John Jr. & ____, b. Lancaster (?) Co., Pa 23 Jun 1766....m. 1st Orange Co, NC c 1790 - *Fannie Clendenin, dau John Clendenin....

*Fannie Clendenin was John Clendenin's widow (she died ca 1796)

 Estate of John Clendenin(g) stated that he died in 1787 at "Big Harpeth" in Sumner County, Tennessee.  Military Land Warrant #1803-200 for 200 acres was given to his two daughters and only heirs, Rose Brisby and Ann Martin.

CLENDENING, John - Died before 6 Apr 1786 when Mary Clendening was appointed administratrix. (Dav TN, Co Ct Min, A/119) 14 Oct 1794 Alexander Trowsdell, administrator in right of his wife, made a settlement. (Ibid B/214)
TROWSDELL, Alexander - Married before 14 Oct 1794 to Mary Clendening, widow of John Clendening, deceased. (Dav TN, Co Ct Min, B/214) 

Per [Tennessee Tidbits, 1778-1914, Vol. I, compiled by Marjorie Hood Fischer, Southern History Press]
 

Henry McCullough In North Carolina

From The Colonial Records of North Carolina, Volume 5:

"...unto Henry McCullough Esqr Secretary of this province...4 July 1755."

Another, more expansive, reference to (and by) Henry McCullough, that also mentions his son, Henry Eustace McCullough, can be seen here.

My In Deeds blog has this post:  A Map In The Henry E. McCulloh Survey Book.

Also found during my Clendenin research and posted in In Deeds:

Deed from JOSEPH CLENDENEN to JONATHAN LINDLEY
Indenture made this 20th day of February 1804, between Joseph Clendenen and Jonathan Lindley, both of Orange county...for a tract of land being part of a tract granted to Henry McCulloch on the 3rd day of March 1745, beginning on Varnel's Creek, and containing two hundred acres.
Test:  Thomas Cartor and Thomas Jones

Estate Of John Clendenin(g)

Tennessee, Probate Court Books, Davidson...:

Clendenning, John, Inventory  Page 43 [Image 34]

Inventory - estate of John Clendening, Deceased

Returned to Court by Administratrix 6 April 1786

Military Land Warrant of 2560 Acres; One of 420 - neither of them located

Test. Edw. Ewing C.D.C.

Pension file based upon John Clendenin(g)'s Revolutionary War service:

He died in 1787 at "Big Harpeth" in Sumner County, Tennessee.  Military Land Warrant #1803-200 for 200 acres was given to his two daughters and only heirs, Rose Brisby and Ann Martin.

Battle Of Cane Creek

Information from a deposition by Joshua Thompson on behalf of Buckner Smith.

Source - Fold3

...District of Greenville...said Joshua Thompson...the deponent enlisted and entered the service of the United States under Capt. John Clendenan in Orange County in the State of North Carolina...

...they were in a Battle at Cane Creek in Orange County under Captain Clendennen, Col. Mebane's regiment [and General Butler]...the said Buckner Smith did his duty faithfully and was discharged at the Haw field near Hillsboro, N.C.

More about Colonel Mebane at the Battle of Cane Creek*:

*Also known as the Battle of Lindley's Mill, 13 September 1781

James Clendinen, Bondsman

State of North Carolina

Orange County

27 November 1805

Source

Graves, Jacob
Conrad Willsman (?), John Woody and James Clendenin(g)....bound...

Thomas H. Benton Vs. James Clendennen

Davidson Co., Tennessee

Superior Court of Law & Equity, Mero District Pleas 1805-1807

The State------ )
vs. )
James W. Clendennin )

13 November 1805

12 jurors [William Johnston, -ones Reid, Jonathan Downey, Willie Barrow, William Haggard, John White, Edward Sanders, William Matlock, Nicholas Raymond, Clement Hall, James Taylor and Edward Gwinn]

Nashville, Tennessee, District of Mero
James Clendennen, alias James W. Clendennen, late of the county of Williamson...., labourer... on 2 August 1805 with force and arms in the said county of Williamson within the district aforesaid forty Spanish mill (ed) dollars of the value of forty dollars current money of the United States, of the goods and chattels of one Thomas H. Benton then and there being found did feloniously steal, take and carry away, against the peace and dignity of the State of Tennessee.

NOT GUILTY

Originally posted here.

Montgomery County, TN, Archives

The Montgomery County [Tennessee] Department of Preservation of Records, more widely known as the Archives, was created by the County Board of Commissioners in January 1995.

An example of what was found in a search:

Surname Given name Title Role Date Bk:Pg

Clendening  John grantee 1789     A:245

Clendening John Lt grantee 1788  A:245

Trousdale John   grantee  1790  A:140

Trousdale John  adjacent 1794   A:345

Trousdale John  adjacent 1793   A:489

Background on Lt. John Clendennin/Clendening can be found here, here, here, here and here.

John Clendenin's Estate In Davidson County

From Davidson Co., TN County Court Minutes, 1792-1799, by Carol Wells:


p. 51 (p. 175) Letters of Admin issued to Mary Clendening on estate of John Clendening, dec.; bond and security given

April 7, 1786
Davidson County, TN
Order of sale issued to Mary Clendening, Admx, estate of John Clendening, to sell the effects of the intestate, giving not less than six nor more than twelve months credit.

October 14, 1794
Ordered that Lardner Clark and Seth Lewis settle with Mrs. [blurred] admr in Right of her Relation wife to admrs on the estate of John Clendening, dec'd and return to court.

Other Clendennin posts here, here, here, here, here and here.

The River's Name

The American Historical Magazine published a commentary about how the Harpeth river got its name.

"As to the origin of the name Harpeth given to several streams which flow through Williamson and Davidson counties Tennessee [it has been reported that] the "name of Harpeth originated from two celebrated highwaymen named from their size Big Harp and Little Harp" They had their headquarters on Big Harpeth, and from thence ravaged the settlements far and near and the name was synonymous for all that was terrible and murderous."  "...the name was spelled Harpath in a Topographical Description (1792 and later), " which predates the notoriety of Big and Little Harp. "The Big and Little Harp theory is without foundation."

The names Harpath and Harpeth were found in an English classic often read by persons who may have named the river in 1784 or earlier.  The author posits that work may be the origin of the name Harpeth.


Lieutenant John Clendennin was granted land on the south side of Big Harpeth.  Clendennin was the first husband of Mary, who married, 2nd, Alexander Trousdale (I'm a descendant of Alexander and Mary Trousdale).

Revolutionary War Veteran John Clendenin

A reference to Lt. John Clendenin was found in the following book:

The following information was sent to me following an e-mail request to the Library of Virginia for the pages that referenced John Clendenin from The Orderly Book of Captain Benjamin Taliaferro:

Note 21 on page 47 states that "Captain James Powers and John Clendenin, a first lieutenant, were both of the 3d North Carolina." The information on page 47 consists mainly of a Barrack Order dated February 1, 1780. It is too lengthy to be emailed, but I will send you a copy of the page by "snail mail.".

Reference Librarian

 The "snail mail" copy from the Library of Virginia

Another John Clendenin reference, this time from Ancestry.com:


Revolutionary War Officers
15th VA
Clendenin, John (NC)
Ensign 3d NC, 15 April 1776; 2nd Lt, 29th Oct , 1777; 1st Lt, 23 Dec, 1777; Regimental Quartermaster, 14th Dec 1779; taken prisoner at Charleston 12 May 1780; exchanged 14th June, 1781; served to close of war.  Brevet Captain, 30 Sept, 1783. (Also spelled Clandenen and Clending)

John Clendenin's widow married 2nd Alexander Trousdale.  They are my ancestors.

James Clendening - Col. Anthony Bledsoe's Son-In-Law & The Bledsoe Will

From Bledsoe of Spotsylvania, VA, in the Historical Southern Families, Volume III:

There is a will of record in Orange Co., N.C., dated June 17, 1790, for William Clendening li sting as beneficiaries, Mary, William, JOHN, Joseph, Polly, Rebecca, Ann, Fanny, Jenny, JAMES , and Fisher. The executors of this will were John Thompson and Andrew Murdock. From this i t can be clearly seen that JAMES CLENDENING, who married BETSEY BLEDSOE, was a younger brother of Lt. John Clendening of Orange Co., North Carolina.

[Note: How this proves that the John listed in William Clendening's will is Lt. John Clendening, of Orange Co., NC., I'm not sure unless John was the only John Clendening / Clendenin / Clendenan in Orange County. Lt. John Clendening was the first husband of Fannie/Mary who married 2nd Alexander Trousdale. The Trousdales were my ancestors.]

James Clendening, who married Betsey Bledsoe June 10, 1789, in Sumner Co., Tenn., wrote the will of Colonel Anthony Bledsoe, as he lay mortally wounded by the Indians, and is mentioned many times in the lawsuit brought in 1846 by Polly Bledsoe Weatherhead, a posthumus daughter of Col. Anthony Bledsoe. The division previously made by the executors of the will was upheld . The children of Betsey (Bledsoe) and James Clendening were Thomas, killed by the Indians ; Anthony; Richard; Patsy, married James Patterson, Rachel, married William Patterson, and Elizabeth Clendening.

The United States Supreme Court reports, Volumes 50-53, has details about Col. Anthony Bledsoe's contested will here.


Col. Anthony Bledsoe was granted 6,280 acres of land from the State of North Carolina. He built a fort at Greenfield, about 2 1/2 miles north of Bledsoe's Lick (now Castalian Springs, TN). Archaeology at Bledsoe's Lick (with pictures) can be found here.

He (Col. Anthony Bledsoe) also had land in Kentucky (one land grant found here) that he wanted sold to use for his children's education (per his will).

Bledsoe County, Tennessee, was named after Colonel Anthony Bledsoe.

See his gravestone at Find-A-Grave.

Mary (Polly) Trousdale, wife of John S. Patillo

Identifying Mary (Polly) Trousdale's family tree has not been a straight-forward process. I first sought a Miss Polly Sullenger who married my ancestor, John S. Patillo (and was my 4^th great-grandmother). After finding reference to Alexander Sullenger as John Patillo's step-son in a Hamilton Co., Illinois county history, it was assumed that Polly was first married to a Sullenger. Another publication "Early Pioneer Gravestones of Pope County, Illinois" stated that Polly was married to James Sullenger and also mentioned that Polly's maiden name was Trousdale. It was then determined that Polly was the daughter of Alexander Trousdale (b. 1766) [not to be confused with other Alexander Trousdales] and Fannie Clendenin. Alexander Trousdale checked out, but what about Fannie Clendenin?

A NEGHS article (search page for article) stated that Polly's parents were Alexander & Fannie (Clendenin) Trousdale, which left the impression that Polly's mother was Miss, not Mrs. Clendenin. I no longer believe that is the case. While first researching that angle, however, the general belief (as I remember it) was that Fannie Clendenin was the daughter of Lieutenant John Clendenin. My research concluded that Mary (Fannie) Clendenin was Lieutenant John Clendenin's widow, not his daughter. The article also stated that Polly Trousdale married Patrick Dolan before she married James Sullenger, which was news to me.

[Another Clendenin reference here and here]

Blog (here) about Ann (Clendenin) Martin, daughter of Lt. John & Mary (Webb, according to this source) Clendenin and half-sister of my 4^th great-grandmother, Mary "Polly" Trousdale.

Ann Martin, Daughter of Lt. John Clendenin

Ann (Clendenin) Martin was the daughter of Lt. John & Mary (Webb?) Clendenin*.

Based upon information from General Abstracts in Revolutionary War Pension Files by Virgil White....

Clendennan, John, BLW #1803-200, NC Line, soldier died in 1787 at "Big Harpeth" in Sumner Cty, TN leaving a widow (not named); sol's daughters & only heirs were: Ann, wife of Lewis Martin of Gallatin Cty, IL in 1831 & Rose Brisby who was living in West TN; an Alexander and James Trousdale were witnesses on 25 Oct 1831 in Gallatin Cty, IL.

....I looked for the Lewis & Ann (Clendenin) Martin family in Gallatin County, Illinois, with little or no results and no further leads. After being contacted by one of Ann's decendants, I now know that the family moved to Texas (many of Ann's grandchildren were born in Texas) and then onto Tulare County, California.

Ann (Clendenin) Martin's Death Notice

“Near Vandalia, in this County, on the 5^th inst, Mrs. Ann Martin, aged 94 years. [Nov. 1869]

Ann Martin's Obituary

It is very seldom we are called upon to notice the death of so old a person in our midst. In some respects the subject of this notice was singular. We propose to state a few points in her character. Mrs. Martin was a very industrious woman, knitting and spinning were here chief pleasures: she always made a practice of doing her own washing, she made her own soap when she was in her 93d year. In these things she proved herself one of a generation rapidly passing away. To all her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren she was very kind; indeed, she was grandmother to all around her home. Mrs. M had lived a widow thirty-four years, and had lived with her son, Mr. J. M. Martin, for twenty years. A little while before she died she handed him a pocket knife, the property of his father, saying she was going to die and could carry it no longer, that now he must keep it to remember his mother by. She died peacefully. N. Burton.” [Buried in Vandalia Cemetery, Tulare Co., CA]

A list of other Martins buried in Vandalia Cemetery can be found here. Martins listed in the "Great Register" of Tulare Co. in 1869 can be found here, in 1888 here and 1898 here. Martins enumerated in the 1870 CA Tulare Co. census can be found here.

*See Mary "Polly" Trousdale, half-sister of Ann (Clendenin) Martin here.

Part Of Lt. Clendenin's Land Sold In TN

An extract of a Davidson County, Tennessee, deed where part of the late Lieutenant John Clendennin's land was sold:

Lt. John Clendenin Awarded Property On Harpeth River, TN

Lieutenant John Clendenin, first husband of Mrs. Mary Clendenin, was a Revolutionary War veteran from North Carolina who was given land on the Harpeth River in Tennessee for his services. His name was found on the list below:



A deed extract from a book of deeds of Davidson, Co., Tennessee (author?), also lists the property of Lieutenant John Clendenin: